Wednesday, February 28, 2007

From Iwatchstuff, "In Skinwalkers, two rival werewolf families war over a boy and his mother. If that isn't stupid enough, the trailer wasn't able to convince me anyone actually turned into a wolf. The werewolf fights were composed of driving motorcycles and shooting at each other. In fact, it may have been an episode of the early-'90s action series Renegade with werewolf lines overdubbed."

From Jimhillmedia, [spoilers] 'WALL E starts out on Earth in the year 2700. Which -- due to the horrible way that humans have treated this planet -- is now just one massive trash heap floating in space.

Earth in fact has become so toxic that -- centuries before our story actually gets underway -- mankind has abandoned the planet. We're now all living aboard the Axiom, this massive spaceship that circles high overhead. Waiting for the day that the planet once again becomes inhabitable.

But the only problem is that mankind hired this enormous, inept corporation -- Buynlarge -- to supervise the clean-up effort. And that company -- in turn -- sent hundreds of thousands of robots down to the planet's surface to pick up all of the trash.

But Buynlarge's Waste Allocation Load Lifters -- Earth Class units really weren't up to the task. And so -- over the centuries -- these robots slowly began breaking down. Until now (as the film's story finally, officially gets underway) there's only one WALL E left running on the entire planet. And so every morning, this WALL E powers up and then tries to accomplish the task that he's been programmed to do. Which is pick up all of the trash that's been scattered around the Earth. It's obviously an impossible job. But still this robot (with the help of his pet cockroach, Spot) does what he can every day.

But here's the thing, folks. Over the past 700 years, WALL E has gotten ... quirky. To be specific, he's become somewhat self-aware & curious.

"Curious about what?," you ask. Well, humans for starters. Over the centuries, this WALL E has collected an amazing array of human artifacts. Things like a Rubik's Cube, a lightbulb, a Playmate portable ice chest. But this robot's proudest possession is an old VCR. On which he plays -- over and over again -- a VHS copy of "Hello, Dolly !"

Now let's pause here for a moment and just think about that. Everything that this robot knows (Or -- more importantly -- thinks he knows) about mankind, he's either learned from picking through garbage and/or by watching a 700-year-old Barbra Streisand film.

Anyway ... Given that he's the last operational robot left on the planet, with only Spot to keep him company, WALL E has become lonely. He longs for companionship.Which is why this robot is thrilled one morning when a spaceship almost lands on him. And what should float out of the craft but this sleek new unit, EVE.

Eve has been sent down to Earth to find ...something (Sorry. But I really don't to give "WALL E" 's entire story away with today's article). And as this sleek new unit hovers around the planet, endlessly scanning the Earth's surface ... WALL E follows along behind EVE like a lovesick pup. Desperate to get her attention, to have this newer model notice him.

It isn't 'til a sudden sandstorm forces WALL E & EVE to seek shelter in the very same vehicle that these two mechanical devices then really begin trying to communicate. With the trash-collecting robot trying to impress this more advanced model by showing off his collection of rare human artifacts.

But then EVE is recalled. And as she reboards her craft to return to space, WALL E has a decision to make. Should this robot just do as he's programmed? Remain on Earth and continue to pick his way through those never-ending mountains of trash? Or should WALL E actually take a chance, continue to try & win EVE over by following her out into outer space?At the very last moment, as EVE's rocket is actually blasting off, WALL E latches onto her craft. And this robot -- along with the rocket -- is hurtled off into space. Which is where the real fun begins ...

Now keep in mind that all I've described here is just the first third of "WALL E." Which plays out with little or no dialogue. By that I mean: The age-old trash-picking robot and the sleek new scanning droid may beep & boop at one another. But -- with the exception of the music & the dialogue that we hear coming from that VCR that plays "Hello, Dolly !" -- that's it. The rest of this section of Pixar's 2008 release is (in effect) a silent movie.

And wait 'til you see what happens to WALL E once he gets on board the Axiom and finds out what has become of mankind. How -- because humans have grown even more lazy in the 700 years that they've been off Earth -- we're all now just these enormous fat blobs who can only move about because we travel in huge floating lounge chairs.

The rest of this amazing motion picture is set deep out in space, where WALL E runs into some even more mis-begotten creatures ... And some 700 years after doing what he was built to do, this robot will finally discover what he was meant to do.'

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

From CHUD, "Even if you hated the shit out of American Beauty and its script by Alan Ball, there’s no denying that Ball’s cable series Six Feet Under helped turn HBO into the critical and awards powerhouse it is today. As previously reported in our THUD pilot roundup, Ball’s next effort for the “not tv” channel is True Blood, about vampires who live side-by-side with humans in a Louisiana town when the Japanese manufacture synthetic blood. Ball wrote, will direct, and executive produce the pilot.

Today, the Hollywood Reporter ran the story that Ball has cast Academy Award-winner, star of X-Men, and perennial CHUD favorite Anna Paquin in True Blood‘s leading role. Paquin will play innocent waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who can read minds and who finds herself involved in a passionate relationship with a vampire.

True Blood is based on a series of terrible novels by Charlaine Harris – they’re pretty much a compendium of clichés dealing with the loss of innocence, sexuality, and every fantasy a horny housewife has had about vampires. The pilot that I read a month ago wasn’t much better – it was all set-up, introducing the same clichéd characters (over-protective brother, violent yet mysterious vampire, white-trash couple, innocent ingénue) over the course of an hour with no real indication as to where it was going. I’ve said before that while I love Six Feet Under to death and that I think Ball’s a better television writer than he is a playwright or a screenwriter, he’s also very uneven. I want True Blood to be good, because the core concept has a lot of potential and deals a lot with themes common to Ball (the vampires are basically coming “out of the closet”, after all), but I also think it has the potential to be a tremendous disappointment.

I like Anna Paquin, though – she’s one of those child actors who was able to win an Oscar at a very young age and have a pretty decent career afterwards. (Go rent the adaptation of The Member of the Wedding she did. Or The 25th Hour. Or The Squid and the Whale. And when the hell are we going to get a release date on Margaret?) So her involvement makes me a little more optimistic about this project than I was before. Lastly, on a purely superficial level, Paquin fans will be happy to know the books and script are full of sex and nudity, often involving her character. So bonus! (The sound you just heard was the sound of a thousand heads exploding.)"

From syfyportal, "Usually getting additional episodes in a season is a good thing for a television series. But if SciFi Channel opts to increase its fourth season order of "Battlestar Galactica" from 13 episodes to 22, it could very well mean the end of the line for that channel's signature series.A source close to the network tells SyFy Portal that if an additional nine episodes are ordered, it will be SciFi Channel's way of telling executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick to use those additional episodes to wrap it up.

"If you're a fan, you don't want to see any more than 13 episodes," the source said. "Questions are going back and forth on whether or not [SciFi Channel] will pick the show up again. It's not a decision you make at the last minute because obviously [the network] will want to allow the show to wrap up."

SciFi Channel gave the green light for another season earlier this month, ordering "at least" 13 episodes. There was some speculation that this was only a partial order, with producer David Weddle telling SyFy Portal soon after the announcement that the network was still trying to decide whether it would order 13 episodes or 22.

Networks typically order partial seasons of shows they are not sure will survive through an entire season, and don't want to pay for episodes it doesn't plan to air. Normally, if a show performs strong enough, the network will pick up the remaining episodes to fill out the season. Apparently, however, these nine episodes are not meant to be held as a reward for a full season, but meant to be used in case SciFi Channel decides it's time for the story to come to an end.While it might seem to be a slap in the face for fans of "Battlestar Galactica," which has received critical acclaim yet has struggled to find a basic cable audience, the source said this is the highest form of respect a network could give an underperforming series.

"Not every show gets an opportunity like this," the source said. "The 'Battlestar' story could have ended right then and there at the end of the fourth [season], but having these episodes in their hip pocket, [SciFi Channel] can let the show end on the producers' terms."

Of course, none of this has been confirmed by SciFi Channel or anyone on the "Battlestar Galactica" production staff, so it should be treated as any rumor would."Battlestar Galactica" airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on SciFi Channel."

That might sound like some fanboy's dream, but that's what one Web site claims are the three people who will resurrect television's most popular trio of all time in "Star Trek XI."What are the chances that some of the biggest names in Hollywood are lining up to play Star Trek's biggest characters? Not likely. Especially since it seems a bit convenient that it's just repeating rumors that have been going around over and over again for months, but IGN Movies says they have the scoop.

According to the site, Damon -- who won an Oscar with Ben Affleck for writing "Good Will Hunting" in the 1990s -- apparently is in talks with Paramount Pictures about becoming the star of the film expected to be directed by J.J. Abrams. "Damon brings star power and an acting pedigree to the role that should convince audiences that this is a serious reboot of the beloved franchise," IGN reports.

Brody would take on the role of Spock, according to the site, taking over a role that Leonard Nimoy originally made famous. And finally Oscar nominee Sinise will reportedly succeed the late DeForrest Kelley as McCoy, the feisty southern doctor who complete the Enterprise trio."Those are the three actors that our studio insider advised us were the closest to being cast, with Damon's talks sayd to be further along than the rest," IGN reported. "We have also heard of an actor being eyed for the role of Enterprise helmsman Lt. Sulu: Daniel Dae Kim ('Jin Kwon' on 'Lost')."

Of course if Kim's involvement were true, that would make the third incarnation of Star Trek he would've been involved in, playing Gotana-Retz in the 2000 "Star Trek: Voyager" episode "Blink of an Eye" as well as a recurring role as Cpl. Chang in "Star Trek: Enterprise."Finally, in the last bit of IGN's revelations, the site reports that James McAvoy, just seen Sunday night representing "The Last King of Scotland" at the 79th Annual Academy Awards, would be in line to play Montgomery Scott.

So there you are. The major roles, outside of Uhura and Chekov, would be played by Damon, Brody, Sinise, Kim and McAvoy. If such a report was true, then that would mean for the first time in probably ever, every single rumor surrounding the next Star Trek film would be true.Damon, most recently in "The Good Shepherd" as well as the Oscar-winning "The Departed" has never latched on to major franchises in his career. He has preferred movies that in more cases than not have been considered light comedies or possible Oscar contenders. Brody has had a similar background, something typical of actors who receive considerable Oscar attention.McAvoy has not denied being in talks for "Star Trek XI," and there are still some serious rumblings that he could very much indeed be pursuing a role in the film. And Sinise has been known to take on genre-type films like "Mission to Mars," but he's been quite busy with "CSI: NY" which goes back into production around the same time "Star Trek XI" is expected to be filmed.

SyFy Portal has received past reports that casting is indeed underway, but only time will tell if the group of actors IGN is claiming to be working their way to joining "Star Trek XI" is real, or simply a real bad holodeck simulation."

From WWTDD, "Since the dawn of time man has wondered if Kirsten Dunst could get any fuglier, and it turns out, yes, yes she can. And she proved it last night at the Academy Awards while wearing her hair up and some absolute mess of a dress. It looks like it was made from the scraps of 5 other prettier dresses. There’s not one section of this dress that matches the section immediately beneath it. How arrogant do you have to be to wear your hair up when you have a face like this. Not only should she wear her hair down to hide those dead lifeless eyes and disgusting pebble teeth, but she should grow her bangs until theyre about four feet long, and just walk backwards in the mean time. "

From Iwatchstuff, "Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen have topped Forbes magazine's list of Hollywood's Top Earning Stars Under 21. Contact Music says:

The 20-year-old twins earned an estimated $40 million last year from their retail empire to beat Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe to the top of the new rich list. Radcliffe earned an estimated $13 million in 2006 to come in second. Actresses Lindsay Lohan, Dakota Fanning and Amanda Bynes rounded out the top five on the new list.

I started to look up what they meant by "the Olsen's retail empire", but then I got bored and stopped. Much like I did with my karate. I was the greatest champion ever and decided it was time to walk away. But then they kidnapped my daughter to blackmail me into killing the President. They thought they could control me, but my hands are weapons of justice and my karate chops are tools of freedom!"

From bloodydisgusting, "First he kicked some cult chicks asses in Wicker Man, then he transformed into Ghost Rider, now Nicolas Cage is vying for the part of The Fly in a planned remake of David Cronenberg's 1986 cult classic, according to the director himself. Cronenberg, who is working on an operatic version of the creepy man-insect story, will not be involved in the remake, but he has been kept abreast of developments. He tells E! "From what I hear, Nic Cage wants the part." Thanks to PR-Inside for the news! In Cronenberg's film, a scientist who becomes half human and half fly slowly transforms more into fly than man."

From Moviesonline, "According to two of our good friend's 'in the know' Hulk 2 will begin shooting in the mighty Toronto in June. Louis Leterrier has revealed to Superhero Hype that Hulk 2 has gathered its enemies. Thunderbolt & The Abominable will take on Hulk in the sequel to the original HULK movie which I really didnt enjoy at all.

Eric Bana will not be returning for the sequel but the director does say that they are very close to casting the new Bruce Banner. There have been a lot of rumors regarding "Hulk 2," particularly since Eric Banadecided not to return to reprise his role as the mean green machine for the sequel. This will make "Hulk" the first comic film franchise since "Batman" to recast the main character while the films were still being turned out regularly, and that wild card variable places more pressure on this sequel than most others these days. Brendan Fraser and David Duchovny had both been mentioned as possible replacements, but neither rumor has turned out to be true. Now that the gossip has been dispelled, Comic-Con brings real news. The announcement was made that Louis Leterrier will be directing "The Incredible Hulk."

Leterrier co-directed and was an artistic director on "The Transporter" and then helmed "The Transporter 2," both starring Jason Statham. So, the French director has experience bringing a sequel to life on his own and keeping it true to the best aspects of the original, and even better his directorial debut and his solo directorial flight were super-action movies of high quality in their genre. Before he started playing his hand behind the camera, Leterrier also worked on "Alien: Resurrection" and "The Messenger."

IGN.com quoted some of Leterrier's comments from the panel at the convention; "It's Marvel's horror movie... It's 'Frankenstein,' it's 'Jekyll and Hyde' and a little 'Edward Scissorhands.'... The good thing about number twos is that you don't waste your time on the origin." Leterrier also spoke about the villain for the next movie; "I think we needed an anti-Hulk this time. Abomination is mega-bad Hulk."

The original "Hulk" movie took in $245 million worldwide, a little more than half of that accounting for domestic gross, and it cost $137 million to make. And, many fans have said that "Hulk" could have done much better if it hadn't been for some shortcomings of the film. It's apparent from his encouraging words that Leterrier knows his stuff about sequels, especially since the origins in the first "Hulk" were partially to blame for fan disappointment. The new director has also promised there will be no gamma-zapped Hulk-ing poodles this time. Some also thought the climax of the film, the big battle with the bad guy, Banner's father (Nick Nolte), was too confusing and convoluted by the virtually implicit action.

"The Incredible Hulk" might just be the promised land that "Hulk" seemed it would be. When "Spider-Man" premiered in 2002 to the sounds of cheering audiences with the "Hulk" trailer in front of it, hopes soared high that Marvel was on a winning streak and "Hulk" would be the "Spider-Man" of 2003. But, when the next year came, audiences were not as thoroughly and massively won over by "Hulk" as they were by the comic book fan event that was Sam Raimi's masterful Spidey film. Suddenly, The Hulk has a chance to redeem itself to those that were less than impressed with his theatrical debut. Now, the sequel has a comic style title (which may or may not stick; "Spider-Man 2" was supposed to be "The Amazing Spider-Man") and it has a new director with all the right ideas."

Monday, February 26, 2007

From thesuperficial, "God, Kirsten Dunst is sexy. And I'm glad she doesn't follow lame trends, like having straight teeth or looking pretty. Seriously though, how did she even attend the Academy Awards? Doesn't direct sunlight burn her skin? You'd think she would've at least taken bat form."

From worstpreviews, 'Co-director of "Sin City," Frank Miller, told SCI FI Wire that "Sin City 2" is a go. Miller and Robert Rodriguez (Grindhouse) will once again share directing duties and are hoping to be in Texas to shoot the film by late spring.

"The script is largely done, and now we're in that limbo zone where we're casting and making script adjustments as we go," Miller said in an interview while promoting "300," which he executive-produced and which is also based on one of his graphic novels.Miller added that the sequel will be based on "A Dame to Kill for," the second "Sin City" tale and a prequel to "The Hard Goodbye," which was the basis of one of the first film's storylines.

The sequel will also deal with "a couple of old stories and one brand-new one," Miller said. "The old ones are a couple of 'Blue Eyes' stories, and there's an 'Old Town Girls' story, and the new one features Nancy Callahan [played by Jessica Alba] in a very different, very scary role. I'm hoping we'll start in late spring. It gets pretty hot in Austin, so there might be a summer's interruption there, but both Robert and I really want to be shooting this thing as soon as possible."'

From scifyportal, "All the talk might be about "Star Trek XI," but if you're someone who is no longer involved like say former executive producer Rick Berman, you have to keep your head in the past. Berman recently talked with the official Star Trek Magazine about some of the past Star Trek movies he was involved with, and shared some of his reasons for stickiing with Patrick Stewart and Co. from "Star Trek: Next Generation" for the commercial failure "Star Trek: Nemesis."

"Star Trek was going through some changes," Berman said, according to SciFi Pulse. "['Star Trek: Deep Space Nine] had ended. ['Star Trek: Voyager'] had ended. 'Voyager's' ratings had not fared at all that well. ['Star Trek: Enterprise'] was on the air and struggling. I think that the studio was not in a big rush. Patrick Stewart was kind of busy. There was a sense I was getting from the studio that perhaps the next film we produced might be better off if we did it with a new cast.

"I felt, right or wrong, that because we were introducing a new cast with 'Enterprise' that to introduce a new cast almost simultaneously [for the movie] was not a good idea. I felt that it had been awhile, four years I beleive, since the audience had seen Picard and Co., that we should give the cast of 'The Next Generation' another shot."

But what caused "Nemesis" to be the only movie of 10 in the Star Trek line to actually bomb? Many critics point to the fact that it opened just days before "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," but Berman believes other factors had to be involved."I don't think that's a valid complaint because if that were true, we would have done better in other countries where it did not open close to that film," Berman said. "I don't know what to blame it on. The reviews of the film were, I would say, 80 percent miserable, as were the opening weekend numbers. It went against the tracking, the quite scientific approach the studios use to determine how a film is going to do. The film did nowhere near as well as the tracking results had predicted."

Berman said he wanted a good segue between the original "Star Trek" cast and that of "The Next Generation" when "Star Trek Generations" came around in 1994, and even had a big-name director (at least in Trekdom) chosen to take it on.

"When it came time to select a director, after everybody was happy with the script, the first person we agreed we would go talk to was Leonard Nimoy," Berman said. "Leonard was not pleased with the script. He wanted to do some pretty dramatic work on redeveloping the script and there was a lot of differing opinions on what evolved at that point, but let it be said there were disagreements and the end result was that there was a bit of a falling out and Leonard's involvement with the project did not happen."

For more of Berman's discussion about past Star Trek movies, check out Sci-Fi Pulse's transcription by clicking here.

From CHUD, "James Cameron may have proven that Jesus did not rise from the dead. Yes, the guy who directed Piranha II: The Spawning. I’m going to give you a second to let that sink in.

27 years ago, Israeli construction workers found an ancient tomb. Inside were sarcophagi; a decade later the names on the coffin were deciphered, and they were Jesua, son of Joseph, Mary, Mary, Mathew, Jofa and Judah, son of Jesua. Common enough names for the region and the time, but Cameron, producing a documentary directed by Simcha Jacobovici, believes to have proof that the Jesua (read: Jesus) in the tomb is none other than the Son of God, who supposedly died on the cross… and who didn’t live to sire a son with Mary Magdalene.

Cameron’s giving a press conference Monday, where he’ll talk about the DNA* and historical evidence that will be presented in the documentary. It’ll be interesting to see what he’s come up with, but it’ll be just as interesting to see the Christian response. Here’s the thing about the faithful: no matter how much proof you show them, they won’t believe what they don’t want to believe. We’re supposed to respect that sort of inane inflexibility. If he could prove that Jesus not only didn’t ascend to heaven and had a kid but was also black, he’d definitely take home the Best Documentary Oscar next year. You know how the Academy is filled with Jewish liberal America haters.*I get the feeling Cameron is checking the DNA against his own. That's a God Complex joke."

From bloodydisgusting, "I just got back from the Wes Craven press thingy for HHE2. While there I got two things of note: We were shown a completed scene from the movie that looked, have to say, fantastic (description below) as well as a montage of various other footage that was too quickly edited to glean much info other than it appears that a good portion of HHE2 takes place underground, in the mines and caverns of the desert. Second thing, Craven answered questions for a about fifteen minutes or so, informally. Not a lot was said of much interest (a LOT about how HHE2 was inspired by current world events; he pretty much hewed close to the studio line. Making matters more difficult, for some reason, they elected to leave the movie's trailer running at full volume for the event's duration, making the audio quality near-worthless...However, I was able to get this:The question of future plans was brought up: "I'm about to sit down and write an original screenplay for Rogue Pictures; going to lock my self in a room for a while and work on that."When asked about the possibility of a Hills Have Eyes 3, he said, "there could be, it all depends on this one. I wouldn't be at all suprised, though, because we think [HHE2] will do really well." This was followed by a question regarding the likelihood of a SCREAM 4. Craven relpied with, "Actually, I recieved a call about that for the first time the other day... obviously, I've been asked about that for a long, long time... I think that it's not completely off the table at this point, as far as the studio making it. I was asked if I'd be interested, but I said it would depend on the script. [Scream 4] isn't something that's around the corner or anything, they are now thinking about it." Craven has been quoted for years as saying that Scream 4 would never happen, but it appears that that's changed, at least somewhat.UNSEEN FOOTAGE DESCRIPTION:The scene opens on a hand gripping a leather strap that's tied to a bed post. The nails are grown out, long and filthy. A woman's face is revealed, dirty, struggling; she's screaming but we can't hear her. Slowly, through the atmospheric fuzz of the audio, we begin to hear her pleas for help. We see that she's nude on the bed, heavily pregnant and is in labor. She is, head to toe, covered in disgusting grime. Her toenails are grown out as long as her fingernails; she has obviously been a captive for a long time. Her stomach ripples as the baby moves inside. We see the bloody, gnarled hand of the infant emerge from between her legs. Suddenly, it's grabbed by a previously unseen person. The infant, covered in gore, is dragged from inside the woman out onto the bed amidst sounds of tearing and more screams. It's horribly mutated. A knife quickly severs the umbilical cord. The woman is shrieking in fear as the baby is held up for us to get a good look at it's twisted features. We cut to the point of view of a figure moving towards the woman from the side of the bed. She begins to plead for her life. Swiftly, her head is crushed by what appears to be a large club made from a human bone. It goes dark and the HHE2 logo fills the screen.

Dan Braun, co-topper of Submarine with brother Josh, sees theatricals as a likely platform but wouldn't rule out a TV series or digital media. "We're basically looking at this as a re-launching of the brand," he said. Submarine and Grand Canal, which have secured worldwide rights, are developing the projects as independent productions but may also try to set them up at a studio. Deal ends seven years of negotiations between the pair and copyright holder Jim Warren, who secured the rights to Creepy and Eerie after a legal battle with Harris Publishing.Submarine and Grand Canal will form a separate shingle, New Comic Co., to oversee development and production of the pro-jects.Creepy and Eerie, which were released by Warren Publishing in the 1960s, reached the peak of their popularity in the 1970s. They focused on macabre and otherworldly stories in the manner of "Tales From the Crypt" and "The Twilight Zone." Their success even prompted comics giants DC and Marvel to launch horror titles.Though both Creepy and Eerie have horror and sci-fi elements, duo will likely develop Creepy as more of a horror project and Eerie as a sci-fi brand, execs said.While a younger generation may not be aware of the brands or the comic books, Josh Braun said that auds will find much of that they like about contemporary genre films and TV embedded in these earlier properties.The Brauns are known primarily as sales agents; they peddled two docs in Sundance for nearly $4 million. Josh Braun also has production credits, including as exec producer on the comics adaptation "The History of Violence." Grand Canal is comprised of former Greystone execs Craig Haffner and Rick Brookwell.News was announced at the three-day New York Comic-con, which ended Sunday.

From moviesonline, "The filmmakers just revealed the first image of the new Michael Myers from Rob Zombie's "Halloween". The character will be portrayed by Tyler Mane. Rob Zombie's vision of this film is an entirely new take on the legend and will satisfy fans of the classic "Halloween" legacy while beginning a new chapter in the Michael Myers saga. This new movie will not only appeal to horror fans, but to a wider movie-going audience as well. It will not be a copycat of any prior films in the "Halloween" franchise."

By David Germain, AP Movie WriterLOS ANGELES — Sharon Stone should have trusted her first Basic Instinct and left it alone, according to voters of the Razzies, which mocks the worst of Hollywood.Basic Instinct 2 won four Razzies on Saturday, including worst picture and worst actress for Stone. The Wayans brothers comedy Little Man placed second with three Razzies, including shared prizes by Shawn and Marlon Wayans for worst actor and worst screen couple. A follow-up to Stone's career-making 1992 hit, Basic Instinct 2 revived her femme-fatale predator for a murder thriller set in London, with relatively unknown British actor David Morrissey inheriting the victim's mantle from Michael Douglas, the star of the first film who did not return for the sequel. Razzies founder John Wilson said that while Stone still looked good in her late 40s, the movie had no other reason to exist. "Yes, she still has some excuse to drop her robe, but the dialogue, the story, the overall attitude of the character is cartoon-like," Wilson said. "You have to sort of wonder, is she vamping the movie or does she think she's giving a serious performance? Is she the lone person on the project who got the joke?" The other Razzies for Basic Instinct 2 were worst screenplay and worst prequel or sequel. Along with the Razzies for the two Wayans, Little Man also won for worst remake or rip-off because it essentially took the premise of a Bugs Bunny cartoon about a pint-sized hoodlum masquerading as a baby and expanded it to feature length, Wilson said. The images of Marlon Wayans' grafted head on a 2 1/2-foot man's body were creepy rather than comical, Wilson said. "I will admit there is 'so stupid it's funny,' but there is also 'so stupid, get out of my face,' and that's what this movie is," Wilson said.

Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, a Hollywood darling a few years ago with such blockbusters as The Sixth Sense and Signs, was named worst director and worst supporting actor for his fantasy flop, Lady in the Water. Unable to get Disney, which made his previous hits, to back Lady in the Water, Shyamalan decamped to Warner Bros., which produced the movie that was based on a bedtime story the filmmaker dreamed up for his children. The movie follows the plight of a mythical water nymph that turns up in a swimming pool at an apartment complex, whose residents band together to send her back to her otherworldly home. Shyamalan has a pivotal role as a writer whose book will one day bring salvation to humanity. "He cast himself as the savior role of the film on top of everything else," Wilson said. "Shyamalan falls into one of the traps that's almost guaranteed to win you a Razzie, when you let your ego run rampant as that man did." Carmen Electra won for worst supporting actress for Date Movie and Scary Movie 4, the latter featuring her as a character that spoofs Shyamalan's The Village. Robin Williams' road-trip comedy RV was chosen as worst excuse for family entertainment.

By Scott Bowles, USA TODAYThe comic-book adaptation about the motorcycling superhero took the top spot at the box office for the second straight weekend, a rarity for a comic book hero other than Batman, Spider-Man or Superman. The Nicolas Cage adventure took in $19.7 million and held off a slew of newcomers, studio estimates from box office trackers Nielsen EDI show. The film has earned $78.7 million in 10 days, a sign it has moved beyond comic book fans and into the mainstream.

Jim Carrey's The Number 23 was second with $15.1 million, about $5 million less than projections. Reno 911!: Miami took fourth place with $10.4 million, about $4 million less than expected. The fantasy Bridge to Terabithia was third with $13.6 million, and Norbit was fifth with $9.7 million.

The panel included King, Jae Lee (artist), Joe Quesada (head honcho/artist), Robin Furth (Queen of Dark Tower knowledge), Peter David (writer), Ralph Macchio (Marvel man, definitely not Daniel LaRusso), Richard Isanove (colorer) and Chris Eliopoules (letterer), although King was the one people wanted to talk to the most. He came out wearing a SHAUN OF THE DEAD t-shirt and the audience just went nuts for him. They were all there to talk about the comic, but the geeks, of course, wanted to know a little bit about everything. Here's a rundown of what was discussed:

-Right now there are no plans to bring on any other artist for the Dark Tower comics. King loved Jae Lee's work and says that these books are firmly Lee's, Furth's and David's vision.

-The comics will follow Roland through Mejis (all Book 4 stuff), but it definitely WILL go past Book 4 and all the way up to Jericho Hill, which King demanded a giant splash page from Lee.

- When King writes, he doesn't see his characters, he doesn't tend to visualize them. "It's like I'm behind their eyes... maybe if they looked in a mirror..."

- King views the Dark Tower series as a first draft and plans to rewrite the entire series, but he promises he won't make them the Special Editions. The originals will always be out there.Now for the two biggest newsworthy bits to come out of the panel:

- When asked if he'd turn another one of his books into a comic series with Marvel, King said he and Quesada were just beginning to talk about doing a version of The Stand as a Comic series. That made me perk up. How cool would that be?

- And the JJ Abrams bit. King said that Damon Lindelof and JJ Abrams did express interest, especially Damon, and wanted to develop the project. King said he was resistant to everybody in the past, but trusted Abrams and Lindelof. He said he trusted Frank Darabont, too, but he felt Frank always had too much on his plate. When Abrams and Lindelof approached King about trying to make the project work, King responded, "I'll tell you what... you can option the books and see what you can do with it." Nothing is set up, but they have the option... and if it doesn't work out, then no harm no foul, yeah? How much did Abrams and Lindelof pay for the option? $19, of course.

So, yes. They have the option. I talked with King an hour or so after the panel (a true geek out moment if there ever was one) and got more out of him about Abrams' plan. I'll have that out to you in less than 2 days, so keep an eye out for that in the very near future.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

From Variety, "DC Comics super-team Justice League is heading for the bigscreen. Michele and Kieran MulroneyBatman may meet up with Superman on the bigscreen after all -- along with Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash and all the rest of DC Comics' biggest names.Warner Bros., with its major appetite for fresh franchises, is looking to make a feature based on super team the Justice League of America, hiring writing duo Kiernan and Michele Mulroney to pen the script. It's the first major action the studio has taken on the project. Feature film is bound to include some combination of DC's most iconic superheroes, although the studio wouldn't confirm which ones they might be. It's unlikely that the studio and DC Comics, a division of Warner, would opt to feature second-tier characters.Since its inception in 1960, JLA has featured almost every major hero in the DC Comics universe, although the core team has largely remained the same: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter. The heroes typically band together to fight alien menaces or groups of supervillains. "The Justice League of America has been a perennial favorite for generations of fans, and we believe their appeal to film audiences will be as strong and diverse as the characters themselves," Warner prexy of production Jeff Robinov said in announcing the hiring of the Mulroneys. In taking on the ambitious project, Warner faces several conundrums.Warner Senior VP Dan Lin will oversee for the studio. Now that the Batman and Superman film franchises have been revived, does the studio go after Christian Bale ("Batman Begins") and Brandon Routh ("Superman Returns") to star in a Justice League pic? Studio is also trying hard to bring Wonder Woman to the bigscreen. To a large degree, casting will depend upon the story arc for the JLA feature and at what point in the superheroes' lives the plot takes place.Warner also must deal with myriad producers working on the Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman franchises. Studio dropped its efforts to make "Batman vs. Superman" in order to focus on relaunching "Batman" and "Superman" as individual properties, which it has done.Filmmakers Chris Nolan ("Batman Begins") and Bryan Singer ("Superman Returns") are each on board to helm the next installments in the two respective franchises. Nolan's "The Dark Knight" is eyeing a 2008 release and the next "Superman," 2009. The potential payoff of bringing JLA to theaters can't be ignored by Warner, which turns out more tentpoles than any other studio. Comicbook fans have long clamored for a movie version of JLA, and word of the Warner project is certain to be a hot topic at New York Comic Con, which unspools today in Gotham. JLA has spawned several cartoon TV series, including 1960s and '70s show "Super Friends" and current Cartoon Network skein "Justice League Unlimited" from Warner Bros. Animation. The Mulroneys -- Kieran is the brother of thesp Dermot Mulroney -- caught the attention of studios around town with their rewrite of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" for Fox.Other screenplay projects include "On the Nature of Human Romantic Interaction," "Paper Man" and "Worst Case." Kieran and Michele Mulroney are repped by Creative Artists Agency and Management 360."

From AICN, "Hey folks, Harry here... Hollywood Reporter finally confirms that J.J. Abrams is directing the new STAR TREK project at Paramount. Naaaaaaaaaw, really?So wow... how amazing is that?So there you have it. What's happening with DARK TOWERS? Ask Quint, he's talking with Stephen King later today. Let's see what the King has to say about Roland. But for now - aren't you glad that all the rumors that I was continually telling you weren't true, weren't true? Nice to see JJ was shooting straight with us.This is an incredibly exciting project - now let's see how angry we get over the casting of Kirk and Spock. How about Russell Crowe as Kirk and Daniel Day Lewis as Spock? Oh wait, they're probably going much younger than that. Hmmmm..."

Friday, February 23, 2007

From Iwatchstuff, "An article in The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that George Clooney and Cate Blanchett are close to signing on as the voice leads in Wes Anderson's stop-motion adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Based on the Roald Dahl book, Clooney would play Mr. Fox, a clever fox who steals from the supplies of three mean local farmers, with Blanchett playing his wife, presumably Mrs. Fox. After remembering the above illustration from the book, I'm thinking Charles Nelson Reilly might have been a better choice."

From Iwatchstuff, "Based on a Philip K. Dick short story, Next tells the story of Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage, for whatever reason), a man who can see into his own future and must avoid a government organization (led by Julianne Moore) while winning the heart of the future mother of his child (Jessica Biel). Even with the crazy seeing into the future part, the hardest concept for me to swallow is that Nic Cage would have a shot with Jessica Biel. Forget the government pursuit plot; you're going to need two hours just to convince me that a woman who looks like Jessica Biel would ever even look past this old guy's crazy hair. Trailer now available."

From Iwatchstuff, "Remember those promo shots for Equis and that shot of Daniel Radcliffe's bare ass? If you thought to yourself, "Hey, I really wish I was on the other side of that photo" then you're in luck. I'd never thought I'd ever be saying this, but here's a super NSFW full frontal shot of Harry Potter's penis. And if you're wondering what's up with all the horse erotica lately, it's because I've slowly been turning this site into a home for animal sex perverts. What, you couldn't tell? Then you must be one of them.

Thanks to everybody that sent this in. And when I say 'thanks' I mean it in the loosest least thankful way possible."

From darkhorizons, "Jim Hill Media has an interesting column of late which reveals that DisneyPictures has gone "franchise-crazy," and is planning sequels to practically every project currently in development or being considered.Hill claims Disney's next big franchise could come out of "The Prince of Persia" video game series which Jerry Bruckheimer is developing. That film is on track to be the studio's big Summer 2008 live-action tentpole pictures.Also in the works is a possible "Enchanted" sequel, three more "Narnia" films, a third and fourth "National Treasure", and of course more "Pirates of the Caribbean" films."

From darkhorizons, 'Talking with Entertainment Weekly, actress Sigourney Weaver says that despite teaming up with James Cameron again for his "Avatar" project, don't expect anymore "Alien" films."I love the character, but I think the monster, once they did the other film (Alien vs. Predator), which I never saw, but that really maxes our monster out" says Weaver.As for "Ghostbusters", and despite Dan Aykroyd's recently announced plans of a CG animated flick, Weaver says "I think all of us are busy doing so many things and it's wonderful all the films are so well loved and they certainly were fun to do. But I think if you do it right the first time, sometime it's better to move on to something else."'

From darkhorizons, 'Despite scathing reviews, "Ghost Rider" opened huge last weekend and so talk of the inevitable sequels have come up.Asked about the possibility by iF Magazine, Director Mark Steven Johnson says "I'd love to do another one. But that's really up to Sony now. I'd like to see what Mephisto has in store for Johnny down the road. Safe to say, that things are going to get worse for Johnny before they get better"He's presently finishing up work on HBO's "Preacher", which he describes as "VERY faithful to the comic, nearly exact. I think if it went, it would be one of the most amazing shows ever on television."'

From AICN, "THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR YOU. Hell, this movie wasn’t even for me.

But it is for my mom. And probably your mom. You see, never before have I seen a film so succinctly marketed, that knows its audience so well and yet isn’t targeted at some small demographic or group like us geeks, but instead is targeted right at the very heart of middle America. Imagine the best geek aimed films you’ve ever seen. Films chock full of cameos that don’t bother to explain themselves – you know, like Miike in Hostel or Tom Savini of Dawn of the Dead – then imagine jokes geared towards the type of humor that gets you howling. Then, just to top it off, add in a pair of your favorite comedians, the hunky A-List actor you’ve been dreaming about/wishing you were since 1977 and then round that out with one of the best character actors alive.

Now imagine that instead of making that movie for you – someone tried to make it for your mom. That’s Wild Hogs. I mean, if you’re the type of person that will laugh at Ty from Extreme Makeover Home Edition showing up to rebuild one of the characters homes, then this movie is for you. If you think a Biker movie isn’t complete without an appearance by both Peter Fonda and the American Chopper guys, then this movie is for you. And if nothing gets you rolling in the aisles like good old fashion Mr. Roper/Jack Tripper sexual misunderstanding gay innuendo – then this movie is DEFINITELY for you. And on that level, every joke works. Hell, the audience in the packed theatre I was in was positively in hysterics. I couldn’t hear moments of dialog over the laughter.

This thing was scientifically engineered to be the Bread Basket’s favorite comedy of the year. I mean for Christ’s sake, Marisa Tomei is the romantic lead. No. I’m not kidding. The women next to me went apeshit. Wait! Who is that? That’s Marisa Tomei. Oh! I love her! Hell, during the Extreme Makeover gag, members of the audience all knew when to scream “Move that bus!”

And they did.

This film knows its audience. This film is a crowd pleaser. And if you read this site with any regularity whatsoever, then this movie is absolutely, positively NOT FOR YOU. But you already know that. You saw the trailer for this, uttered the words No, fuck no and I’m here to tell you that you’re right. Just be ready for when your mom tells you how much fun it is. And no, you shouldn’t trust her. Just smile and nod.

That said, if for some reason you get roped into this, it won’t kill you. It’s cute and its heart is in the right place. It gets kind of depressing at times when you realize that there isn’t a single actor in the film that you haven’t seen in a movie ten times better than what you’re watching. Not one. Yes, even Martin Lawrence. But I have to admit there were some giggles and a smile or two – and hell, it only has one shot to the balls in the whole film, which makes it 57 times less base and bottom dwelling as Little Man. Sure, it’s playing to the cheap seats – just not the cheap, cheap seats. It aims low, but never rolls into the gutter.

So really, what I’m trying to tell you is no, you probably won’t want to see this, but it is probably an inevitability. It’ll be on at your sister’s house, or on cable, or back to back on TNT with Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. So be ready. It’s gonna be bigger than you want it to and you’ll stumble across it eventually. It ain’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen – hell, it ain’t even the worst motorcycle movie with an appearance by Peter Fonda that I’ve seen in the last week. But I’ll never watch it again. And I can’t recommend it to you.

I will however call my Mom first thing in the morning and tell her to buy tickets for herself and my dad. They’re gonna love the living shit out of this thing.

Universal Pictures has reupped Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal's Gotham-based Tribeca Prods. for another two years and will get busy on developing "Little Fockers," the third installment of what has become one of Universal's most lucrative franchises.Producers are working with Jay Roach, who directed both "Meet the Parents" and "Meet the Fockers," to hatch the third pic.

Hope is to bring back not only Ben Stiller, De Niro, Teri Polo and Blythe Danner, but also Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand. The effort makes strong financial sense: "Meet the Parents" grossed $330 million worldwide, "Meet the Fockers" $515 million.Script will be written by Larry Stuckey, Roach's former assistant who collaborated with the director on several scripts, including a remake of "Elling" at Fox and an untitled outsourcing comedy at Universal.

For Universal, the Tribeca deal is the second overall pact to be renewed after the studio brought Working Title partners Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner back into the fold. Studio is also eager to reup Imagine partners Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, whose deal expires at the end of the year.De Niro and Rosenthal are coming off "The Good Shepherd," the De Niro-directed CIA drama that Universal distributed through its output deal with financier-producer Morgan Creek."Tribeca has been responsible for such a diverse group of successful movies, and both Jane and Bob have a real love for film that shows in everything they've done with us," said U president of production Donna Langley. "This marks eight years that Tribeca has had a deal at Universal, and we look forward to continuing this very fruitful partnership."

From syfyportal, "Five separate storylines will be featured in the upcoming "Transformers" feature film and move to a climax at the end of the movie, according to Don Murphy, one of the producers.

"There are so many things that make it Transformers, but there's no one classic story, like Spider-Man's death of Gwen Stacy or something like that," Murphy told SciFi Wire recently. "I think it proved a little bit tricky. What the real balance was that if you just wanted robots smashing robots, then that's computer animation or that's 2-D animation. And what we were always trying to do was a live-action movie. So you kind of have a nice balance now between the robots and the human interactions. And the first movie, as I'm sure you already know, is about the arrival of the Autobots and the Decepticons to Earth."

Helmed by Michael Bay, the "Transformers" movie will reveal background information about how the war between the Autobots and Decepticons began. Everything starts when Sam Witwicky (played by Shia LaBeouf) comes across hundred-year-old glasses that belonged to his grandfather. He finds a map and how to find the "Energon" cube etched by a laser on the lenses. The final conflict between the warring robots starts at Hoover Dam, then concludes in Los Angeles.

The movie will include a lot of the first set of Transformers. "Everything that the original writer, John Rogers, had grown up on," Murphy said. "When additional screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman came on to do their subsequent drafts, it was all the first season, because that was what I think had been earmarked as the traditional thing, as this is what kids grew up on and everything."

From CHUD, "Could the next superhero franchise that Warner Bros grotesquely mishandles be the biggest one of all for them – the Justice League? The studio has hired Kiernan and Michele Mulroney to write a script for a movie featuring DC Comics’ legendary superteam.But there are some big questions around the film. Which characters from League history would appear? If Batman and/or Superman are in it, would the studio get Christian Bale and/or Brandon Routh. And who the fuck are Kiernan and Michele Mulroney?Last one first: They’re nobodies. Kiernan is Dermot Mulroney’s brother, and the couple apparently did an uncredited rewrite on Mr. & Mrs. Smith. They had a couple of other scripts go nowhere. They’re pretty much in keeping with Warner Bros’ recent spate of decisions to wreck their big screen franchises.As for the rest of the questions: nobody knows yet. Maybe the Mulroneys will do all their research with Superfriends DVDs and we’ll get that giant fucking Indian. Wes Studi always needs work. And they can get Freddie Prinze Jr to play one of the Wonder Twins!A Justice League film makes a certain amount of sense for the studio, though, because it’s a real franchise-starter. DC is plagued with characters who are second tier and lower, and this film is a way to create audience awareness of them. Just imagine, this could lead to a Hawkman movie in 2012. In the meantime I’m going to hit the New York Comic Con this weekend and try to get myself a DVD of the unaired Justice League of America pilot. At least this movie couldn’t be worse than that. Plus, I'll get a chance to hear grown men going on and on about how much they love the Justice League cartoon in person, instead of just having to read it on message boards. "

From Iwatchstuff, "As reported by Variety, Martin Scorsese's future directorial efforts may include the children's novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, which Warner Bros. has just acquired the right to adapt.

Published last month by Scholastic, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" concerns a 12-year-old orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station in 1930 and a mystery involving the boy, his late father and a robot.

I'll be interested to see how Scorsese adapts his typically tough-guy style of filmmaking to a children's book. I'll be even more interested to see how the kids react when the movie's robot, now Italian and played by Robert DeNiro, pulls the orphan boy's teeth out one by one for disrespecting his robot family."

Hollywood Elseware reports that Ryan Murphy will be directing an interesting film entitled Alfred Hitchcock Presents, a drama about the making of Hitchcock's Psycho, and particularly the hurdles and roadblocks that the great British director went through in order to bring it come to fruition. Hitchcock was discouraged left and right from making it. The script was seen as way too dark and perverse (especially with the lead female star getting killed off after 45 minutes), and no one wanted to see a movie based more or less on the macabre exploits of serial killer Ed Gein.They also report that Hitchcock might possibly to be played by Anthony Hopkins!In addition the website claims that they don't know exactly when Alfred Hitchcock Presents might shoot, but were told that it's definitely real. Universal, Hitchcock's home studio for the last 15 or so years of his life, may be involved as a financier-distributor.If and when it happens, the plan is for Helen Mirren to play Alma Reville, Hitch- cock's wife and lifelong creative collaborator. Psycho was shot for Paramount, although Universal founder and Hitchcock confidante Lew Wasserman occupies a portion of the script. Psycho costars Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh are also "characters," I'm told, but not large ones. Presumably screenwriter Joseph Stefano will also figure in.

From moviesonline, "This independent epic is the first feature film adaptation of Mary Shelley's lost 1826 novel about an apocalyptic 21st century pandemic that leaves one man alone in a dying world, at war with its Diseased survivors. Far ahead of her time, the author of Frankenstein offers her powerful messages about intolerance and militarism, which are as prophetic today and they are relevant to the world in which we may be living in tomorrow.What makes this truly independent epic so intriguing is that it was produced on a budget about the size of Robert Rodriguez' "El Mariachi", yet spans seven months of photography across the American Southwest, offering scenes of great scope usually associated with big budget studio pictures, including, the burning of an American city, jumbo jets, nuclear blasts, impressive crowd scenes and downtown street warfare with automatic weapons that have never before been attempted in a guerrilla film.

Mary Shelley's "The Last Man" is perhaps the first guerrilla feature film to successfully attempt to produce an epic with production values that far surpass "The Omega Man" and "The Last Man On Earth", offering an independent companion within the "Last Man" genre for those awaiting the upcoming release of the Warner Bros Studio production of "I Am Legend" starring Will Smith.

The Number 23 is an inane numbers game pretending to be a suspenseful psychological thriller. Not only is it not frightening, it's downright laughable.Its compilation of the inherent creepiness of this random number is the numerical equivalent of gibberish. It feels like the cinematic version of those nonsensical symbols that sometimes appear on your computer screen in place of an e-mail message.DO THE MATH: See a clip from The Number 23

Jim Carrey is woefully miscast as the everyman Walter Sparrow, a fatherly dog-catcher who becomes obsessed by a novel titled The Number 23. Virginia Madsen plays Agatha, his long-suffering wife who gives new meaning to the concept of supportiveness. When she discovers him asleep with a slew of numbers scrawled on his arm, à la Memento, and the message "Agatha. Kill her," wouldn't it be the time to suggest he seek professional help? Instead, she stands by her man. Even when she learns hideous, uncontested things about his past, she staunchly defends him as a good husband and father. The plot is equally inexplicable: contrived, incoherent and tedious.

As directed by Joel Schumacher, it's like a bad imitation of David Fincher's Seven. In fact, it includes nearly every horror movie cliché. (A particular favorite: Madsen's search for clues in the middle of the night in an abandoned mental hospital, now boarded up and surrounded by barbed wire.)

The biggest mystery about The Number 23 is why Carrey, who gave such a wondrously subtle performance in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, would stoop to taking this silly role.Here's our homage to the film's tortured permutations of the numerals 2 and 3: 3 minus 2 equals 1. And there is only one reason to see this movie: You have absolutely nothing better to do.

From darkhorizons, "Daniel Craig has revealed that he wants veteran actress and former Bond girl herself Jane Seymour to be cast in the next Bond film. Digital Spy reports that Craig believes that Seymour, who played the female lead Solitaire in Roger Moore's first 007 film "Live And Let Die" back in 1973, could be worked into the follow-up to "Casino Royale"."Casino Royale was about early Bond and I love the idea of him revisiting his past and meeting up with ex-loves. That has to include Jane Seymour. I'm a huge fan, I thought she was fantastic" said Craig apparently.Reports suggest Craig is seriously trying to persuade the film's producers to consider the possibility of incorporating the 57-year-old into the story in some way."

From Darkhorizons, "The 1950s spawned many notable sci-fi classics with several of them, notably "The Time Machine" and "War of the Worlds", having been remade. Others however are still in the works like "When Worlds Collide", yet arguably the most famous one has remain hereto untouched - until now.1951's "The Day the Earth Stood Still" tells of a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to warn its leaders not to take their conflicts into space, or they will face lethal consequences. A demonstration of his resolve is that all electrical power on Earth is suspended for half an hour. Whilst the giant robot Gort, the silver alien spaceship, and even the saying "Klaatu barada nikto" have become cemented in popular culture, the film still stands as one of the more acclaimed and provocative pics of the era with underlying themes of religious symbolism, paranoia and an underlying message of piece combined with a dark and cynical take on human society.Now, Boxoffice Mojo reports that 20th Century Fox has staked out May 9th of next year for release of a remake of the project. One posting is hardly conclusive even though BOM is very reliable, but the report was then confirmed by Fox to FirstShowing.net.From the sounds of it though this is purely concept stage for now as no-one is attached, but one wonders can the remake resonate in modern times as much as the original? It'll be tough."

Thursday, February 22, 2007

New Zealand fishermen have caught what is expected to be a world-record-breaking colossal squid. Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said the squid, weighing an estimated 450kg (990lb), took two hours to land in Antarctic waters.

Local news said the Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni was about 10m (33ft) long, and was the first adult colossal squid landed intact.

One expert said calamari rings made from it would be like tractor tyres.

'I can assure you that this is going to draw phenomenal interest. It is truly amazing,' Steve O'Shea from Auckland's University of Technology told local media.

The squid took about two hours to land

Colossal squid, which are found deep in Antarctic waters, are thought to be about the same length as giant squid (Architeutis dux) but are much heavier.

The species was first identified in 1925, but very few specimens have been found.

The first specimen recovered intact, a 150kg (330lb) immature female, was caught on the surface in the Ross Sea near the Antarctic coast in April 2004."

From Iwatchstuff, "With now-famous video sensations like Star Wars Kid, Numa Numa Guy, and Nintendo64 Kid (search YouTube for these if interested), sometimes the Internet can make celebrities out of the unwilling when their personal videos find their way online. Such was the case of Mr. Hands, a Seattle man who let a horse have sex with his butt on tape as his friends watched/masturbated (search disgusting places for this if interested, pervert). Rather surprisingly, the horse's forearm-size member would eventually cause serious damage to Mr. Hands' standard-size internal organs, killing him.

Though he is now gone, Hands lives on through poorly-shot video and the warning not to ram a horse's penis into your intestines, but that is not his only legacy. His epic tale has now been immortalized through film in the movie Zoo, and here is the poster.

You know in a cartoon, when someone sees a lot of money and their eyes turn into dollar signs? This is the equivalent effect for when a horse sees that he gets to have sex with some dude."

The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror films has announced the nominations for the 33rd Annual Saturn Awards. Leading the pack is Bryan Singer's homage to the superhero mythos Superman Returns with 10 nominations. Garnering 6 nominations each, are X-Men: The Last Stand and Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, which received its nod in the restored category of Best International Film. Following closely behind are an eclectic mix: Casino Royale, Mission Impossible III, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and Stranger Than Fiction, receiving 5 nominations each.Warner Bros. Pictures flexed its muscles and led all film studios with a total of 21 nominations. Also with strong showings were Sony Pictures and 20th Century Fox with 15 and 13 nominations, respectively. Buena Vista plundered 11 nominations and MGM had a new license to kill with 8, followed closely by Picturehouse with 6 nominations and Lionsgate and Universal with 5 nominations each.In the television categories, "Lost" continued to find nominations, receiving a total of 6. NBC's newcomer "Heroes" burst onto the scene, earning 5 nominations, followed closely by SCI FI's "Battlestar Galactica" and Showtime's "Dexter," each garnering 4 nominations, while TNT's "The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines" discovered 3 nominations. A Special Recognition Award will be presented to the imaginative children's book "Alien Xmas" written by Stephen Chiodo & Jim Strain, and published by Baby Tattoo Books.This year marks the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films' 35th Anniversary. The non-profit organization was founded in 1972 by film historian, Dr. Donald A. Reed. The Academy is currently headed by Robert Holguin, who serves as President of the Academy.The winners will be announced at this year's 33rd Annual Saturn Awards which takes place on Thursday, May 10, 2007 in Universal City. Hosting the event will be actor Greg Grunberg and comedian Jeffrey Ross. Grunberg is one of the stars of the highly popular NBC Universal television series, "Heroes" (and is nominated for his work on the show). Jeffrey Ross is one of the leading stand-up comedians whose brand of humor shines in roasts. Special Award recipients will be announced shortly.